A Dagger By Any Other Name

[Sonnie Wu]

"I know you know," Sonnie nodded, "Teaching classes, I just get into the habit of assuming my students know nothing. Half the kids that come in here think they're gonna be Jackie Chan inside a week, and they often turn out not be able to take a punch without crying."

She smiled and shrugged, "I kid, I kid! Ellie is useful in her own ways. Not everyone's cut out for combat. It's cool."

The Beast tossed one of the wooden daggers to Seraphina. The blade was, as one might expect, dull. Nobody was getting cut with this. It was strictly for safe training.

"Okay, then. Let's see your stance!" She waited to see how the Nix would present herself for a fight.

[Seraphina]

There was a laugh, “To be honest, I used to think that way. That the knowledge I had gained while I was, away, would turn me into a badass fighter. Turns out, I forgot most of it.” A shrug, “So I’m starting over.” So she knew punches hurt. A lot. And could land you in the hospital.

A quick nod, “There is no denying her ability to heal. Very useful.” Sera could stop someone from dying, and Titania could heal the wounds. They would make one hell of a team. “I know I’m not going to be the best at fighting, but just being able to hold my own and not depend on others is my goal.” It was the truth.

Catching the wooden dagger, she looks it over, feeling it’s weight. “A bit lighter than my own dagger.” Testing the weight, “But I can work with this.” A smile.

Stance? Oh yeah! She could do that, remembering from her self-defense class. She lowers her chin, protecting her throat, wooden dagger held in front, at the ready. Her other hand was held up in a defensive pose, the wrist turned inward. Protecting her wrist from getting slashed, a good way to bleed out.

Sapphires look to Sonnie, “How’s this?” ready to be critiqued.

[Sonnie Wu]

"Dude, I don't even remember all the things I forgot from that time," Sonnie nodded sagely. What she said... sort of made sense, even if the point was lost somewhere along the way.

"I commend you, Sera. Taking the time to learn at least some fighting skills is wise. After all, your Claviger's not always going to be there 24/7." She did her best to guard the Spring Queen's body, but she had her own life to live, too. Plus, Rhodes would probably get tired of Sonnie always hanging around.

"Hmm," the Beast made judgy sounds as she walked in a circle around the Nix. She nodded in approval at some things, but would adjust others. Nudging Sera's feet to widen her stance just slightly, changing the angle of the shoulders.

"So daggers are mainly for stabbing. They do the most damage at the point. Designed to penetrate the body," she had to suppress a smirk. Now was not the time for immature penetration jokes. "Combat knives are a different story. Since you'll mainly be using your pretty dagger Circe made you, we'll want to focus on the stabbinating."

Sonnie reached up and shifted Sera's grip for one more appropriate for stabbing. "We'll work on your thrusting power first," she added, again trying to stifle a giggle.

[Seraphina]

There was a nod, “Some of my past pushes me to want to learn, to be able to protect myself. And yeah, I can’t have you around 24/7, that’s just not fair! Though if you wanted to be, you would always have a room.” A wink added. “But yeah, even just the basics is only going to help I figure. And how can I ask others to fight if I’m not willing to throw down with them?” she wasn’t a sit back and not face danger kind of girl.

Sonnie would find no resistance to nudging Sera’s feet or changing the angle of her shoulders. “That feels better actually.” She comments.

“How are combat knives different? Can one train with daggers and still use them? Is one better than the other in a fight?” because she wanted to be the most efficient. An eyebrow raised, “Stabbinating? The official term? Works for me!” if that’s what Sonnie wanted to call it, she’d go with it.

Sonnie might have been trying to stifle a giggle, but Sera didn’t, she giggled. Before quickly trying to focus, “Right, focus.” Like she was reminding herself. “What is the best way to do that? Straight or something off to the side?”

[Sonnie Wu]

"Self-sufficiency is a good thing!" Sonnie nodded energetically. "What's it called? Auto...Automancy? Autotuning?" She couldn't recall the word. There was a time she'd have known it instantly. That was another life. She shook her head as if to shoo away an annoying fly, and got back to business.

"You can train with any weapon. It's all good. Combat knives are the kind of thing soldiers use. You see 'em in action movies. They have more utility than just killing. Like cutting rope, stuff like that." She shrugged, "Don't get hung up on what style is better. Besides, you got that fancy hedgespun dagger. It's gonna be better than any blade a mortal makes."

"Uhh... yes! Official term. Trust me on that." Nod nod nod.

"Okay, so when you wanna stab someone, straight on is usually a bad idea. You want quick, short thrusts at close range towards their vitals. Stomach, throat, balls. Aim for the fleshy parts. You don't want the blade getting caught on bone." She was surprisingly matter-of-fact when she described the most effective way to kill prey an opponent.

[Seraphina]

There was a brief look of confusion, “Uh, not sure?” trying to think of what Sonnie could be referring to, but not coming up with anything.

A nod, “That is true. I do intend on adding to it, give it more bite so to speak.” But she wanted to learn to use it better first, then talk with Circe about it. “But maybe a combat knife would be good to have as backup? Seems like one can’t have too many useful weapons in the Hedge.” If it was good at cutting things, might help with vines and whatever the Hedge threw at them.

Her head nods sagely, “So says Sifi Wu and so shall it be!” she declared.

Was the Nix surprised that Sonnie was so knowledgeable? Not at all. She’d seen the monkey in a fight, girl knew what she was doing.

Throat always seemed like the best target. But most people knew that and defended it.

So she decides to try and test thrust, holding the wooden dagger in her hand, she raises it, and does as Sonnie instructed. But appeared she didn’t grasp what was taught.

Frowning, “Ok, I know I do better than that.” Looking to her friend, “Was my thrust off?”

failure

Date	Action	Roll	Result
2021-09-20 09:50:45	Seraphina rolls 5 to Dagger thrust?(Str+brwl) (10 Again)	6, 1, 3, 5, 1	failure

[Sonnie Wu]

Sonnie shrugged and let the vocabulary failure drop. She didn't want to dwell too long on the reasons she couldn't remember the word.

"Back-ups are nice. I got a bunch of throwing knives. Ya know, in case my target is outside the reach of my staff." Plus, they were easier to hide. "Let's focus on your main weapon, though. We'll worry about secondaries some other time."

The Beast beamed at being called Sifu Wu. The kids in her classes did it, but it meant more coming from a friend.

She watched silently as Sera attempted a thrust (heh, heh). Her head tilted to one side as she eyed the movement, "Not enough commitment. You gotta put more of your body behind the attack. Roll your shoulder into it. Remember, you're not just trying to tag your opponent, you're trying to push through them. Like, literally, you want the blade to pierce skin and keep going."

[Seraphina]

Sapphires widen, “Oh wow! You throw daggers too?!” awe in her voice, “I’d love to see that sometime.” Sonnie’s abilities were always amazing Sera. But she nods, focusing on her main weapon.

The Nix listened as Sonnie told her how to thrust better, nodding, looking at the dagger, then nodding again. Filing the advice away.

“Ok,” another nod as she tries rolling her shoulder before committing to trying another thrust.
This time, it went a little better, the advice was spot on.

2 successes

Date	Action	Roll	Result
2021-09-23 10:29:30	Seraphina rolls 5 to Dagger thrust?(Str+brwl) (10 Again)	7, 9, 6, 10, 4, 7	2 successes

[Sonnie Wu]

Sera wanted to see her throwing knives? "Ask, and ye shall receive."

3 successes

Date	Action	Roll	Result
2021-09-24 23:34:09	Sonnie Wu rolls 8 to Dagger Throw: Dex 4 + Athletics 3 + 1 spec (10 Again)	8, 2, 2, 8, 3, 1, 1, 8	3 successes

Sonnie flicked her wrist, and a small steel blade fell out of her sleeve and into her waiting hand. She turned, raised the blade and flung it at a human-shaped wooden target on a nearby wall. The blade sunk into the chest area with a soft thunk noise. She did this all in one smooth motion.

She walked over and pulled the blade out. The target was covered in a multitude of gouges, hundreds of them, displaying just how often Sonnie had hit it with her throwing knives. Most of the marks were centered on the heart, stomach, neck, eyes and crotch.

The Beast turned to witness the Fairest's second thrusting attempt, and she nodded approvingly. "Much better! Now just keep doing that over and over again. Keep at it until it becomes reflex." In a sense, that's what training was, repetition to the point you don't even think about the moves anymore. You just do them.

[Seraphina]

Sapphires widen in awe as a small blade appeared from her sleeve and the Beast flung it at the target. Hitting it!

Her mouth hung open for a second or two, amazed by what she just watched, “Damn!” she gushed, “That was amazing!” then looking to her, “You are amazing! And deadly!” cause, yeah. Flying dagger going to hurt.

“How long have you been training to do that?” cause curious minds needed to know. Not that Sera saw herself doing that. No way. She’d hurt herself. She was going to be quite happy just stabbing people if she needed to.

A nod at the instruction, and she attempts another one. And while it wasn’t as good as her first one, it was still something.

1 success

Date	Action	Roll	Result
2021-09-25 22:20:04	Seraphina rolls 4 to Dagger(Str+Weap) (10 Again)	5, 1, 1, 9	1 success

“So when you say until it becomes like a reflex, you mean in a fight? Knowing what to do will just be a reflex?” and she attempts it again. This time with more success, or, well, it felt like more success. Eyes look to Sonnie for confirmation, or pointers.

3 successes

Date	Action	Roll	Result
2021-09-25 22:21:23	Seraphina rolls 4 to Dagger(Str+Weap) (10 Again)	8, 10, 10, 1, 1, 6	3 successes

My apologies for rolling the wrong dice before...lol!